Maddie KeistTercera Hora

Los Usos del Preterito y Imperfecto

El Preterito

◦ To tell of something that happened once

◦ To tell of something that happened once but with a specific end

◦ To indicate the beginning or end of a process

El Imperfecto

◦ To tell of past or habitual or repeated actions

◦ To describe a condition, mental state, or state of being from the past

◦ To describe an action that occurred over a specific amount of time

El PretéritoEl PretéritoThe preterite form is used for actions that were completed in the past.

-AR verbs

-é -amos

-aste

-ó -aron

-ER & -IR verbs

-í -imos

-iste

-ió -ieron

VERBOS REGULARES

1.Drop the ar/er/ir ending of the infinitve2.Add the corresponding ending depending on whether the verb ended in ar/er/ir

You drank almost all of the juice that I bought.

Tú beberistecasi todo el jugo yocompraré.

CAR/GAR/ZAR

◦-car -qué

◦-gar -gué

◦-zar -cé

**yo form only

I Y

◦Used for verbs that end in -aer, -eer, -oír, and –oer

◦The él/ella/usted forms use the ending "yó" (rather than ió)

◦ The third person plural uses the ending "yeron" (rather than ieron)

◦The remaining forms gain a written accent over the letter "i."

STEM CHANGERS

◦-ar & -er verbs that are stem changers in the present tense do not change their stems in the preterite.

◦-ir verbs that are stem changers in the present tense change their stems in the preterite such that e:i and o:u

**third person only (singular and plural

I Y

The I to Y rules are applied to the verb creer in the preterite.

creí creímos

creíste

creyó creyeron

CAR/GAR/ZAR

Almorzar: The yo form replaces the “z” with a “c” so that it becomes “Almorcé.”

STEM CHANGERS Pensar is a stem changer in

the present tense, but because it is an –ar verb, it is conjugated normally, without changing its stem when in the preterite form.

Dormir is an –ir stem changer in the present tense, so in the preterite, the third person forms change stems from “o” to “u.”dormí dormimos

dormiste

durmió durmieron

◦ Son muchos irregulars en el preterito. Desfortunadament, necesitas memorizarlos! La lista de los irregulars del preterito incluye: andar, caber, estar, haber, hacer, poder, poner, querer, saber, tener, y vivir.

◦ Todos de estos verbos usa los conjugaciones:

-e -imos

-iste

-o -ieron

Ejemplo: Él tuvo mucha comida.

El ImperfectoEl ImperfectoThe Imperfect form is used when talking about past actions that are not seen as completed.

-AR Endings

-aba -ábamos

-abas

-aba -aban

-ER/-IR Endings

-ía -íamos

-ías

-ía -ían

***Note: It is a good idea to specify the pronoun “yo” or “el/ella/usted” since the endings are the same for these forms.

◦ ¡Solo hay tres verbos irregulars en el Imperfecto!

Era Éramos

Eras

Era Eran

Iba Ibamos

Ibas

Iba Iban

Veía Veíamos

Veías

Veía Veían

SER

VER

IR

***Note: It is a good idea to specify the pronoun “yo” or “el/ella/usted” since the verb is the same in these forms.

¡PRÁCTICA!

Choose the correct verb◦ Él habló/hablaba  por teléfono ayer por la tarde.

◦ Los buenos estudiantes generalmente estudiaron/estudiaba antes de un examen.

◦ Yo siempre comí/comía después de escuela.

◦ Tú canto/cantaba cuando yo toqué/tocaba el piano.